A NORTH East disability service boss says there needs to be more protections in place for disabled people.
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His comments come following research by the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health which found people with a disability are more likely to experience violence than those without.
The report shows men were more likely to experience physical violence while women were more vulnerable to sexual, emotional and partner abuse.
About 55 per cent of disabled women had experienced stalking and harassment since the age 15, compared with 45 per cent of women without disability.
Disability Advocacy and Information Service North East chief executive Martin Butcher said the figures weren’t surprising.
“It is consistent with other research and what we see within our service,” he said.
“There definitely needs to be more awareness and protections for people with disability.”
Mr Butcher said the problem was two-fold.
He said people in group homes could have behavioural issues which were responded to aggressively by staff or carers.
Whereas disabled people living in the community tended to be in lower income areas.
“There can be more violence in those low socioeconomic areas,” Mr Butcher said.
“People with disability tend to be put in situations where they are more vulnerable.
“We should take these figures seriously when talking about domestic violence.
“The government needs to think about where and how to accommodate people with disability so they are not in the same block of units as people who are known to be violent.”
The report brakes down an Australian Bureau of Statistics personal safety survey of 17,000 adults.
More than half of disabled men experienced physical violence since age 15 compared with 45.8 per cent of men without disability.
Mr Butcher said help was available for people who needed it.
“As an advocacy service we can speak up, help people report to the police and help people in court with the justice system.
“If people are wanting to make a complaint against service provider we can assist with that as well.”
To contact the service, call (02) 6056 2420.